Valve



v...1. PM LoTE VALVE Filed oct. 7, 1955 Slept. 29, 1959 United States Patent C) vrnzvuv Vernon J. Pillote, Rockford, Ill., assignor to AquaMatic Inc., Rockford, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application October 7, 1955, Serial No. 539,179

Claims. (Cl. 137-119) This invention relates to a control apparatus for reversibly controlling the flow of liquid through a closed hydraulic circuit and particularly to a control apparatus of the type employing an hydraulically operated threeway valve.

An important object of this invention is to provide a control system having an improved hydraulically threeway valve which is of simple construction and'which is reliable in operation.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide a control system having a novel three-way valve including a swingably mounted valve member arranged for operation from a position closing one of' the outlet ports to a position closing the other outlet port in response to the hydraulic forces acting thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide a threeway valve in accordance with the foregoing object in which the swingably mounted valve member is arranged with respect to the path of liquid flow from the inlet so that the liquid impinges upon the valve member, when the latter is unseated from the outlet ports, and urges the valve member towards the outlet port through which the ilow occurs. v

A further object of this invention is to provide a threeway valve having a swingably mounted valve member mounted for movement between opposed seats in which the seats extend obliquely to the path of liquid flow from the inlet so that the liquid flowing from the inlet to one outlet impinges on the valve member, when the latter is in a seated position closing the other outlet, to aid in retaining the latter in its seated position.

These, together with various ancillary objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in connection With the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a diagrammatic view of a water treatment device having the control apparatus of the present invention applied thereto and shown in section with the apparatus in its service position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of hydraulically operated three-way valve for use in control of a water treatment device of the type shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the ap valve member.

The control apparatus of the present invention, designated generally by the numeral is generally useful in water treatment systems such as base exchange water treatment devices and filtering devices wherein it is necessary to reversibly control tluid flows to and from the top and bottom of the treatment tank. As shown, the control apparatus is applied to a base exchange Water treatment system including a treatment tank 11 and a regenerant tank 12.

The control apparatus 1l) includes an hydraulically operated three-way valve including a body 13 having an inlet 14 and outlets 15 and 16 adapte-d for connection to ICC a closed external hydraulic circuit. As shown in Fig. 1,` the outlet 15 is connected through a conduit 17 tothe treatment tank 11, the other end of the treatment tank being connected througha conduit 18 and a flow restricting device, here shown in the form of an injector 19, to the other outlet 16. A service outlet 21 is formed in the body 13 and arranged for communication with Vthe outlet 16 to pass water to service through the conduit 22 when the service valve (not shown) is open. A drain outlet 23 is formed in the body 13 and arranged for communication with the outlet 15 to pass water through conduit 24 to drain under the control of the drain Valve 25.

In the embodiment illustrated, the drain valve is operated by means of a solenoid 26 conveniently controlled by Ya timer 27, it being understood that the drain valve may be manually operated, if desired. Y Y

In accordance with the present invention, the threeway hydraulically operated valve is formed with a swingably mounted valve member 31 arranged for movement between opposed valve seats 32 and 33 in response to the fluid pressure conditions which act thereon. The valve seats 32 and 33 are conveniently formed on the ends of inserts 34 and 35 respectively which are disposed in the valve body 13 and retained in position therein byV means of threaded glands 36 and 37. The valve seats are preferably inclined relative to each other and diverge from each other in a direction towards the inlet 14. The swingably mounted valve member 31 is supported adjacent the convergent ends of the valve seats and is conveniently secured to one of the inserts such as 34 by means of a fastener 33. The ap valve member is yieldably urged to a position closing one of the outlet ports 32a defined by the valve seat 32. In the embodiments illustrated, the valve member, as best shown in Fig. 3, is formed of a resilient strip 41 of metal or the like which is interposed between two layers such as 42 and 43 of resilient material such as rubber. The metal strip is arranged to reinforce the portionk of the valve member which spans the outlet ports and also to yieldablyibias thevalve member toward the outlet port 32a. Alternatively, any other suitable means such as an external spring or a weight may be provided to urge the valve member to a position closing one ot the outlet ports 32a. v

The injector is utilized in the brine tank type water treatment apparatus and operates, when the three-way valve is in a position opening the port 32a and closing the port 33a, to maintain the pressure at the inlet appreciably above the pressure at the drain outlet. Consequently, a pressure unbalance exists on the valve member, when the drain valve is open and the valve member is in a position closing the port 33a, which pressure unbalance aids in maintaining the valve member in its raised position. In the hand salted type water treatment apparatus, which do not require the use of an injector, it is apparent that any conventional flow restrictor may be provided to restrict the ilow from the port 32a toY the lower end of the treatment tank 1i.

The injector l19 utilized is of conventional construction and includes a housing 45 defining a reagent inlet chamber 46 and a downwardly and outwardly flared throat 47. A nozzle member 48 is threaded into the body 45 to discharge a stream of water into the throat and a reagent inlet port 49 is formed in one wall of the chamber 46 and communicates through a conduit 50 with the reagent tank 12 so as to draw reagent therefrom when liquid is passed through the nozzle and into the throat. A by-pass passage 51 is provided to bypass liquid around the injector and a check valve, here shown in the form of a resilient flap 52, is provided in the by-pass passage and arranged so that the injector is by-passed when the tluid llows from the treatment tank 11 to the Service line 22.

The parts of the ow control apparatus are shown in the..

ilow of liquid to service, the external hydraulic Circuit formed by the conduit 17, treatment tank 11 and conduit 18 functions to equalize the iuidpressures on. opposite sides of the valve member 31 so that. the latter is retained in its seated position against the seat 32 by the resilient strip 41 or other means provided for biasing it to that position. When liquid is drawn to service, the liquid ows from the inlet 14 though the outlet port 33a and outlet 15 and then through the conduit 19 to the upper endof the treatment tank, the liquid from the lower end of the treatment tank passing through conduit 18, check valve 52 and by-pass passage 51 to service. The hydraulic impedance of the circuit connecting the outlet port 33a to the service line 22 produces a small pressure unbalance which acts upon the valve member and aids in retaining the latter in its closed position.

In the form shown in Fig. l, the valve seat 32V is disposed at an angle to the path of liquid ow from the inlet through the outlet port 33a. Although some of the liquid entering inlet port 14 and flowing through the outlet port 33a does not strike the valve member 31, a portion of the liquid does impinge on the valve member when the latter is seated on valve seat 32. The liquid impinging on the Seated valve member urges the latter against the seat and thereby aids in preventing spurious unseating of the valve member as may occur under transient pressure conditions produced by rapid opening or closingV of the service valve. Preferably, the valve seat 32 is arranged with respect to the inlet 14 so that the free edge of the swingably mounted valve member 31 does not extend in the path of flow of liquid from the inlet, when the valve member is in its seated position closing the port 32a, to thereby prevent unseating of the valve member at high rates of tlow to service.

As previously described, when no ow occurs to service, the external hydraulic circuit functions to equalize the pressures on opposite sides of the valve member. When the drain valve is opened under these conditions, there is a rapid reduction in the pressure adjacent the port 33a. Because of the hydraulic impedance of the external hydraulic circuit which communicates the port 33a with the port 32a, the pressure at the underside ofV the valve member is not reduced as rapidly and there is a resultant transient pressure differential acting upon the valve member which urges it away from the seat 32 and toward the seat 33. As soon as the valve member leaves the seat 32, the pressures on opposite sides thereof become substantially equalized. However, the valve member, when unseated, extends into the path of liquid ow from the inlet through the port 33a to the drain outlet 23VV so that the liquid impinges on the valve member when the latter is separated from the seat 32, and aids in raising the valve member to a position against the seat 33. When the valve member becomes seated against the Seat 33 and closes the port 33a, the flow through the valve is reversed and passes through port 32a, injector 19 and conduit 18 to the bottom of the treatment tank. The etiiuent from the top of the treatment tank ows through the conduit 17 and out through the drain outlet 23 to drain. This effects backwashing of the treatment tank. The pressure drop through the iiow restrictor formed by the injector produces a pressure unbalance between the inlet and the drainoutlet 23, which pressure unbalance acts upon the valve member to hold the latter in its raised position against the seat 33.

The control apparatus is preferably arranged to also permit the passage of untreatedwater to service, during the regeneration cycle, and for this purpose a flow restrictor 55 is provided between the port 32a and the service outlet 21 to prevent excessive flow to service during regeneration, which excessiveow Wouldreduce the pressure at,the.lllnrerside.0fA the valve mernbrY 31 and.

permit the latter to move away from the seat 33.

The liquid owing through the injector 19 draws the reagent through the reagent inlet line 50 from the reagent tank 12 and mixes the latter with the liquid passing through the injector so that the combined stream of liquid and reagent is fed to the bottom of the treatment tank. The timer 27 is arranged to maintain the drain valve open for a time interval sufliciently longer than the time required to withdraw the reagent from the reagent tank to provide a predetermined rinse period following the injection of the reagent into the treatment tank. When the drain valve is subsequently closed, the liquid flows through the nozzle 48 and conduit 50 to the reagent tank 12. When the latter is iilled, a oat valve (not shown) stops ow through the conduit 50 and the external hydraulic circuit functions to again equalize the pressures on opposite sides of the valve member whereby the latter moves under the bias of the resilient strip 41 to a position closing the lower outlet port 32a.

A modified form of hydraulically operated three-way valve, arranged for use in the control system of Fig. 1, is illustrated in Fig. 2. In this embodiment, the inserts 61 and 62 are formed with valve seats 63 and 64 which are inclined relative to each other and are both inclined to the path of flow of liquid from the inlet 14. As is apparent, when the valve is in the position seated against the lower valve seat 63 to close the port 63a, at least a portion of the liquid flowing from the inlet through the upper outlet port 64a impinges on the valve member 31 and aids in retaining the latter in position against seat 63. Conversely, when the valve member is in its seated positionragainst upper valve seat 64 closing the port 64a, a portion of the liquid flowing from the inlet through the lowerport 63a impinges upon the valve member and aids in retaining it in its seated position against the upper valve seat 64. The force of the liquid impinging on the valve member, when in its raisedposition against the upper seat 64, supplements the force on the valve member due to the pressure unbalance produced vby flow through the injector to drain. When the service valve is closed, the force of the liquidimpinging on the valve member, when the latter is in its raised position, is small due to the low rate of flow of liquid through the restrictor formed by the injector nozzleV 48. However, when the service line is opened during regeneration and the aforementioned pressure unbalance reduced thereby, the force of the liquid impinging on the valve member is relatively higher due to the increased rate of ow of liquid past the valve member and is effective to aid in holding the valve member in its raised position. This materially aids in preventing the valve member from becoming unseated from the seat 64 when the service valve is opened.

As in the preceding embodiment, the external hydraulic circuit including conduit 17, treatment tank 11 and conduit 18, functions to equalize the pressures on opposite sides of the valve member, in the absence of liquid ow through the valve. When the drain valve is opened, the liquid pressure adjacent port 64a is reduced more rapidly than the pressure adjacent port 63a, due to the hydraulic impedance of the external hydraulic circuit. The resultant pressure diierential on opposite sides of the valve member raises the latter away from the lower seat 63 whereby the valve member extends into the path of liquid ow from the inlet to the upper outlet port 64a. This produces a lift on the valve member which increases as the valve member moves toward the upper valve seat 64 since more and more liquid flowing to the upper outlet impinges on the underside of the valve member. This arrangement in which the upper valve seat extends obliquely to the path of liquid ow from the inlet is such that a greater portion of the liquid flowing through the upper outlet port 64a will impinge on the underside of the valve member, as the latter approaches a seated position against the upper seat 64 than in the embodiwww .14:

ment of Fig. 1. Therefore, for any given angular spacing between the valve seats, the valve seat arrangement of the embodiment of Fig. 2 will provide increased lift on the valve member.

I claim:

1. A ow control apparatus for reversibly controlling liquid fiow through a closed hydraulic circuit comprising a body defining a chamber having first and second spaced outlets adapted for connection to a closed hydraulic circuit, said body having an inlet communicating with said chamber between said outlets, a pair of opposed valve Seats in said chamber defining first and second valve ports respectively disposed in the path of liquid flow from said inlet to said first and second outlets, a ap valve member in said chamber mounted adjacent the side of said chamber opposite said inlet and extending toward the latter for pivotal movement between said seats and normally biased into engagement with one of said seats to block the flow of liquid through said first port, said apparatus including a drain outlet communicating with said second outlet, and a drain valve controlling liquid flow through said drain outlet adapted upon opening to pass liquid from said inlet through said second port, said flap valve member being arranged to extend in the path of liquid flow from the inlet to said second outlet port to have the liquid irnpinge thereon and urge the valve member to a position against the other valve seat closing the second outlet port and opening the first outlet port to thereby reverse the fiow of liquid through the hydraulic circuit when said drain valve is open.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein at least one of said seats is disposed obliquely to the path of liquid iiow from said inlet and arranged so that the valve member, when abutting said last mentioned seat, is urged against that seat by the liquid impinging thereon as it ows through the port defined by the other seat.

3. A fiow control apparatus for reversibly controlling liquid ow through a closed hydraulic circuit comprising a body defining a chamber, opposed valve seats in said chamber defining first and second valve ports, said body having a liquid inlet communicating with said chamber between said seats, a ap valve member in said chamber mounted at the end thereof remote from said inlet for pivotal movement between said seats, means yieldably biasing said valve member against one of said seats to block the iiow of liquid through said first port, said apparatus having first and second outlets respectively communicating with said first and second ports and adapted for connection to a closed hydraulic circuit, said apparatus having a drain outlet communicating with said second outlet, and a drain valve for controlling the ow of liquid through said drain outlet and adapted upon opening to pass liquid from said inlet through said second valve port to drain, said valve member extending from the mounted end thereof toward said inlet and arranged to have the free end thereof move across said inlet as the Valve member moves from a seated position closing the first valve port to a position closing the second valve port whereby the liquid flowing from the inlet through the second valve port impinges thereon and urges the valve member toward the second valve port when said drain valve is open.

4. A flow control apparatus for reversibly controlling liquid ow through a closed hydraulic circuit comprising a body defining a chamber having an inlet, a pair of valve seats in said chamber defining first and second valve ports, said valve seats being inclined relative to each other and diverging in a direction toward said inlet, a flap valve member pivotally mounted adjacent the convergent ends of said valve seats and extending from the mounted end thereof toward said inlet, means yieldably urging said valve member against one of said seats to close said first valve port, said apparatus including first and second outlets respectively communicating with said first and second valve ports and adapted for connection to a closed hydraulic circuit, a drain outlet communicatl ing with said second outlet, and a drain valve controlling liquid flow through said drain outlet adapted upon opening to pass liquid from the inlet through the second valve port to drain, said Valve member, when unseated, extending in the path of flow of liquid from the inlet to the second valve port to have the liquid impinge thereon and urge the valve member against the other of said seats to close the second valve port.

5. A flow control apparatus for reversibly controlling liquid iiow through a closed hydraulic circuit comprising a body defining a chamber having an inlet intermediate the ends thereof and first and second opposed outlets, a first member having a first flow passage extending therethrough and slidably supported in said first outlet, a second member having a second fiow passage extending therethrough slidably mo-unted in said second outlet, said first and second members having first and second valve seats formed on the adjacent ends thereof diverging relative to each other in a direction toward said inlet, a ap valve member pivotally mounted at the convergent ends of said valve seats and extending from the mounted end thereof toward said inlet, means yieldably urging said valve member against said first seat to normally close said first passage, said body having first and second connections respectively communicating with said first and second fiow passages and adapted for connection to a closed hydraulic circuit, a drain outlet communicating with said second flow passage, means for removably retaining said members in said body, and a drain valve controlling flow through said drain outlet adapted upon opening to pass liquid from the inlet through the second valve port to drain, said valve member, when unseated extending in the path of liquid flow from said inlet to said second passage whereby the liquid impinges thereon and urges the ap valve member toward said second valve seat.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 148,041 Douds Mar. 3, 1874 1,902,624 Dotterweich Mar. 2l, 1933 2,225,840 Newton Dec. 24, 1940 2,476,320 Paulus July 19, 1949 2,563,200 Venning Aug. 7, 1951 2,714,897 Whitlock Aug. 9, 1955 2,789,575 Miller Apr. 23, 1957 

